In-depth report: Special-education students failed by the state

Mississippi graduates fewer special-needs students than any other state in the nation, spending hundreds of millions of dollars to undereducate thousands of kids and leaving the state with a crippled workforce.

12:42 AM,
Feb. 2, 2014

David Steiner, pictured near his mother, Kim Steiner, won't graduate with a diploma from the Mississippi public school system despite his sharp mind and love of science and novels. Like most students with special needs, he has fallen through the cracks. David, who has ADHD and Asperger's syndrome, will instead leave school with an attendance certificate.

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CLICK HERE to see the data that drove this investigation and do your own research using The Clarion-Ledger's special online report. It features state, national and districtwide data on graduation rates, discipline, staffing, educational environments and disability breakdowns.

David Steiner's woes began in kindergarten.

The brown-haired boy buzzed with energy and habitually popcorned out of his seat at Moss Point Escatawpa Primary School. ...